The Colours of a Promise
by gethsemane342
Summary: Behind every soul, there is a colour. Behind every colour, there is a story. And behind every story, there is a promise and a next time. The story of the six humans who preceded Frisk and the promises that connected them.
1. Patience (Light Blue)

**Disclaimer: I do not own Undertale**

 **Rating** : for death (including suicide), self-harm, implied adult themes and mild language

 **A/n:** I played Undertale a while ago and found myself wondering what happened to the six humans who preceded Frisk. This started out as a quick exercise in their stories but then I started to delve into Toriel some more and this is the result. Three guesses how many chapters there will be. I hope you enjoy!

The Colours of a Promise

 _ **Patience (Light Blue)**_

The first human since Chara to fall down is young – younger, even, than Chara was. She's wearing a bright red ribbon in her hair and her small hands clutch what looks like a knife, but there's something off about the blade. Plastic then. It's been a long time since you've seen plastic used like this.

As soon as she sees you, she backs away. You take a small step forwards and she takes one backwards into the golden flowers that cover Chara's grave. Slowly, she raises the plastic knife and points it at you. You stop and for one irritable second you wonder whether _all_ humans are naturally violent but then you remember Chara and Asriel and force that thought away. Humans can be violent: it doesn't mean they are. You have to believe that.

"Child," you say as gently as you can, "are you hurt?"

She jumps at the sound of your voice but doesn't move.

"Child," you say again, "I won't hurt you. Are you injured?"

Again, she doesn't respond or move. You suppose that, from her perspective, you are a tall, imposing monster. Maybe she's never seen anyone like you before. How many years has it been since the war? Chara was different but Asriel found Chara. Nobody could ever have been scared of Asriel.

You grimace. There's no point thinking about them. Not anymore.

"Child," you say for the third time, "please, at least let me check you for injuries." You pause and wonder if you should try a different tactic. "Let me introduce myself. I am Toriel, caretaker of the Ruins." The words sound strange on your lips. "Tell me, how did you fall down here?"

She still doesn't say anything. You wonder whether you should leave her. She isn't your responsibility, after all. But although it has been some time since war was declared on the humans, the promise of freedom has not faded from the Underground: you know that if you leave her here for too long, someone will take her to Asgore, or even kill her themselves, and you will not let that happen. You will _never_ let that happen.

So you wait. It is almost as it was with injured animals, back when there were injured animals to coax towards you. You want her to be used to your presence. You want her to trust you enough to let you help. But she waits too, not moving an inch, arm barely twitching and expression unmoving. After a few minutes, you meet her eyes and see only endless patience. You realise that could be here until the end of time and she would not move. So you start to talk, your voice barely echoing around the walls that surround you: about the Ruins, the Underground, what you're planning to make for dinner, your favourite jokes, your gardening skills or lack thereof, your favourite food, your-

"Snails?" For the first time, something other than wary patience flits onto the human's face. "You eat snails?"

You try not to be too excited by this development. "They are delicious, child. But, uh, I can eat other things as well. Pie, for example. I love to bake." You watch her carefully. Her knife is still outstretched but now you can see from her slight swaying and more frequent blinking just how _tired_ this human is. "The Ruins are dangerous, my child. But for you to return to your world, you would-"

But she shakes her head. "I … I'm here now." When you cock your head, the human glances up. "Dad took me to the mountain and told me to wait. I did but it got cold and dark and then light and still cold so I climbed a bit higher and…" She bites her lip and the knife shakes violently. "He always said if I was bad, he'd leave me on the mountain." Her eyes squeeze shut. "He didn't want me."

Your heart clenches.

"Child, I…" You step forwards. She doesn't back away so you keep stepping forwards until you are in front of her. "Do you want to come with me? I have a large, empty home and…" You trail off, thinking of everything that is no longer used there. "And an old woman like me could use company."

You step back and hold out your paw. After a couple of seconds, she loosens one fist from her plastic knife and grabs it. Together, you start the walk back. No words pass between you as you walk. Eventually, she stumbles so you pick her up and carry her. By the time you arrive, she's fast asleep. You tuck her into the bed that you keep there, even if there is no Asriel, no Chara, no other children who use that bed.

There's her now, though.

Dhriti. That's her name. She tells you that the next day, through mouthfuls of bread. She is younger than Chara, as you thought, but she seems as old. The plastic knife – a toy – isn't hers. She found it on the side of the road while she waited for her father.

You're not sure what to do with Dhriti now that you have her and for the first day, there's a lot of stepping around each other. It seemed a lot easier to promise yourself that you would look after and guide any humans who fell from the surface when the idea of another human falling down was just that: an idea. Often, you tell her that she can go out and play if she wants but she waits patiently with you, offering to help you with the little errands you run. As you work, you talk, and she listens. She's a funny child. Not at all like Asriel or Chara.

That first day, and the ones that follow, are strange, with neither of you quite sure how to act around the other. But as the days turn into a week and then into weeks, you hit a familiar rhythm that echoes, a little, of your life before. Every morning, you wake her from a twitchy slumber. Together, you eat breakfast before you teach her reading and writing and maths and all sorts of other things that you used to teach Asriel and then Chara. You make her lunch then and in the afternoon, she either plays in the house or on the balcony facing Home, or helps you with chores. When evening comes around, you eat dinner together and then you read together, your arms still covered in bandages from the _Hospital_ games that Dhriti likes best. When her eyes are drooping closed, you gently lead her to bed.

On some afternoons, however, you ask her to stay in the house while you get groceries, and you always find her in the room you left her in, patiently waiting for you. On others, you take her for walks in the Ruins and she clings to you, as though afraid you, too, will leave her on a mountain – even to the point that when her ribbon falls down a hole, she refuses to let go of you to retrieve it.

It strikes you, after days and weeks of this rhythm that you could do this. You _said_ (promised) you could but now you think you really could. You could keep Dhriti safe here. She's happy and she seems so much more alive than she did when you first found her. You could raise her as your own child – prove to the monster world that humans _aren't_ bad. You could let her be _your_ child and maybe it will fill the hole that has been in your soul since the day your two children died and you lost your husband. You could let yourself be as happy as she is beginning to be.

So you do. And as weeks turn into months, she becomes more talkative, more playful, more prone to taking the initiative. Sometimes, she ventures out of the house on her own, or runs a little way away from you on walks, though always, always she waits for you before going too far. She doesn't talk much about her past but then, you never talk about the spare toys you own or the bedroom door that you will not open, nor your life before Dhriti. You don't need to. Not yet. Her wounds and yours still need time to heal.

But one day, you're preparing to go for a walk when you realise she's gone ahead. But when you look around the yard and the rooms before it, she isn't there and none of the monsters have seen her. Confused, you return to the house but she isn't in any of the upstairs room. Which, of course, is when realisation hits you. You run downstairs and to the exit of the Ruins.

The door is open.

Heart racing, you charge forwards, looking, looking, paws filling with fire, screaming her name and-

It's too late.

The King looks up at you from just a few metres outside the door and it takes all of your self-control not to set _him_ on fire. You want to. You really want to.

"Toriel, I-"

"Don't."

You want to say more but the words won't come. On the ground between you lies Dhriti, bleeding and broken. One of the soldiers nearby holds a canister with something light blue inside. A soul. Her soul.

"I had to," he says and there's nothing of the gaiety you remember of him in those words. "I have to free everyone."

"By killing children," you spit. "Did she even attack you, Asgore? Did she threaten you at all?"

He looks down. Of course she didn't. More likely, she waited, frozen, thinking that if she was patient, you would come.

"Leave," you hiss. "Leave and never come _near_ the Ruins unless you want the Underground to be down one king as well as its Queen."

He nods and bends to pick up the body but you make a warning noise, so he turns and leaves with the two guards. Once he's gone, you pick up her body, cradling it to your chest, and walk into the Ruins.

You bury her under the tree in front of the cottage, where she sits and reads – used to sit and read. You find her toy knife on the floor of the lobby but you can't bring yourself to touch it now. Let it stay here, you think. After all, she loves ( _loved_ ) this place too.

It isn't until you are in her room (and it's funny but you've only just realised you think of it as Dhitri's room now rather than the guest room) and you suddenly realise that of _course_ she isn't there to tuck into bed, that you allow yourself to sit down and cry.


	2. Bravery (Orange)

**Disclaimer: I do not own Undertale**

 **A/n:** Happy Sunday everyone.

 _ **Bravery (Orange)**_

The next child doesn't come for several years. By then, you've mostly gotten used to the silence again. You've found it helps to keep busy enough that you don't have time to dwell. It also helps to keep the items that remind you of the past out of sight and not to dwell on the nightmares for long. In the meantime, you've told the other monsters in the Ruins that they are not to harm any humans who fall down – certainly none that are under _your_ care – but you suspect they may not listen. What is one human's life against their freedom after all?

In any event, you run into the next one when you're about midway towards Chara's grave. You see him first but the moment he sees you, he backs up a step. He's tall – much taller than … other human children you have seen – and pale. His hands are bunched into fists and encased in pink, leather gloves; his mouth is set in a determined twist. His hair is hidden beneath a strange, orange bandana covered in black ink drawings. In complete contrast to the bright colours on his head and hands, the remainder of his clothes are dark blue.

"Don't come any closer," he says, pink fists raised. His voice is low – the sort of low that you remember adult human men speaking in, but he doesn't look _quite_ like the men of your memory. "I mean it."

"I will not hurt you, my child," you say softly, although you keep an eye on those fists. "Are you injured?"

"You swear?"

"I promise."

He hesitates and then lowers his fists. "Thank God for that. I wasn't sure I could beat you." He breathes out and now you see a strange chalky substance on those gloves.

"You have been … fighting?"

He hesitates and then nods. "They kept attacking me. First some frog who jumped me and then these bugs and something with one eye and…" He looks at you. "Are they … did I…"

"Yes," you say because you don't know what else to say. You still keep an eye on those fists, just in case he interprets even this as being some kind of attack. There's a reason the monsters lost the war.

But his eyes widen. "Jesus. I … Jesus, I was just trying to … they were trying to kill me. You have to believe me." He blanches and you get the distinct feeling he might vomit. But then he stops himself. "What _is_ this place?" He looks around, gloved fingers clenching and unclenching. "Man, I never expected the rumours to be true."

"Rumours?"

"Everyone says if you climb Mount Ebott, you don't come back. My friends dared me to try it. I was near the top when I tripped and…" He shrugs. "I wasn't expecting this though. You … what _are_ you?" He pauses. "Sorry, that was rude."

You look at this human and feel something inside you soften. He has dust on his hands but he's not violent. The only violent ones down here for years have been the monsters.

"That is quite alright, young one," you say. "But perhaps we should retire somewhere more pleasant. I can give you food and tend to your wounds."

He brightens at that. "Really? That'd be great!" Then his face falls slightly. "Er, no offence but now that I think about everyone's reaction to me so far, how do I know _you're_ not gonna kill me?"

"On the Surface, does everyone try to kill everyone?"

"No…"

"It is the same here as it is up there. We all just try to live our lives as best we can and humans … we have reason to be scared of humans. But if you speak to the monsters, they will realise you mean no harm. Anyway, we should be going." You hold out your paw. "Come, young one."

He regards the paw with wariness. "Uh … d'you mind if we just walk? I just, uh, I don't really _do_ holding hands unless it's with a … anyway."

You try to mask the hurt you feel. He _is_ older than Chara after all. Maybe Asriel, Chara and Dhriti would have been like this had they-

"Of course, young one," you say. "This way."

"Thanks." He rubs a gloved hand over his bandana and sneezes at the dust that falls. "You can call me Rhisiart, if you want. Young one makes me sound like a padawan"

You decide not to query that. "Thank you," you say. "I am Toriel, caretaker of the Ruins."

"The Ruins? That's what this place is?"

You start to walk with him and to tell him about the Underground and how the monsters ended up here.

"Geez," he says, as you pass the tree that marks where Dhriti is buried, with leaves that always fall to the ground, "we were real jerks to you guys, weren't we?"

"They do not teach you this on the Surface?"

He looks uncomfortable. "There's a _story_ like it but everyone always said _we_ were the good guys and you were, well, monsters." He smiles then. "Well, when I get back up there, I'll tell 'em. In fact, maybe you could come up with me, Toriel. Once they meet you, they'll see they were jerks and you guys can come back up."

Since his refusal to hold your hand, you've been finding it difficult to think of him as a child. Certainly he's older than Asriel, Chara and Dhriti … were. But that sentence reminds you just how young this human is.

"Thank you, Rhisiart, but I suspect it would not be as simple as that. But let us not speak of that now. Come, you- Rhisiart. I shall heal you and then we can have something to eat."

You stride ahead before he can ask what you mean, and open the door to your home. Once inside, you heal his wounds and let him tell you of everything he saw in the Ruins. He doesn't talk much about the monsters he killed and, for that, you're grateful. You tell him he should feel free to explore everywhere except downstairs while you make dinner, and he thanks you.

You find some old noodles in a cupboard. It's one of your weaknesses: keeping food that Asriel, Chara and Dhriti liked even though…

Anyway. You have a feeling Rhisiart won't eat snails today so you hunt around a bit more and find some vegetables. Once you've made everything, you call him in; he almost charges in and proceeds to eat everything with great enthusiasm. When he's done, he offers to help you wash up, removes his gloves for the first time and picks up the plates before you have a chance to answer him. Then he cheerfully tells you about life on the Surface and asks you questions about the Underground.

Once the dishes are clean, you return to the living room to sit in front of the fire. He joins you. He looks through your many books but when you settle down to read, he asks for some paper and a pencil, explaining that he prefers drawing to reading. Soon, he's sitting opposite you, sketching quickly and intently. Somehow, you're finding it difficult to remember why you ever thought he was dangerous.

When he starts to yawn and his head begins to droop, you send him to bed, to sleep in Dhr- the guest room. The bed is a little small for him but he doesn't complain, only thanks you and wishes you a goodnight. You can't help sneaking in a little later to leave him a slice of pie and check his sheets are straight. He's tossing and turning, and muttering, _didn't mean to, don't die, I'm sorry_ , so you pad over and stroke his hair (blond, and tufty from being under the bandana all day) until he calms down.

The next morning, he asks how he can leave.

"I don't wanna put you out too much, Toriel," he says, smiling, no trace of his nightmares on his face. You notice that he's got his bandana back on but his gloves are stuffed into his pockets. "I'll make my own way. My family and friends will be freaking out by now. But hey, if you wanna come with me, show 'em all how nice you are, I won't say no."

You hesitate but you have to tell him. He isn't like … there are people waiting for him on the surface. Yet you can't just let him go. You promised you'd help the humans who fell and protect them so far as you could. If Asgore finds him, he'll be dead. So you have to forewarn him. That's the long and short of it.

(It still hurts to think that, no matter how much you tell yourself that the monster you married is gone.)

So you tell him, in what you think passes for an even voice, about the royal decree, and the barrier, and how you need one human and one monster soul to cross it, but seven human souls to break it. You tell him that some monsters out there won't recognise him as a human, or won't want to hurt him – but others will. You tell him that the last human to fall down here was murdered. You tell him that maybe it's better that he stay here, where you can protect him.

He nods as you explain this. For a second, worry flashes across his face, but then he stands.

"Thanks, Toriel," he says. "But I gotta try anyway. My parents and my brothers will be worried about me. If that's the only way out then that's the only way out." Some of your concern must be on your face because he says, "I'll make it. I'm strong. I'm fast. I can avoid monsters, no sweat. I'll make it. And when I'm up there, I'll tell 'em all about you. They'll take the barrier down and me and my friends and my brothers, we'll come get you." He smiles. "You can watch the sunset with us. It's as spectacular as you remember, especially from high up. Man, you've gotta see it from the mountain on the other side of the town, Toriel. I'd draw it for you but I'd rather you watch it with me."

"I do not know," you say slowly. "I think you should stay here, my child."

"I can't. Please don't try to stop me, Toriel." His expression is pleading. "I have to go back to my family, no matter the cost. I'll be fine. I got through part of the Ruins, didn't I?" He sees the reluctance on your face and misinterprets it. "I'm not gonna start a _war_. I promise. If they'll leave me alone, I'll leave them alone. I just wanna go home." His face darkens and his fingers twitch. "But if they try to kill me and I can't get them not to, I … I'll have to. You understand, right?"

Your heart clenches again because if there is one thing you know, it's that this human is too young to be a killer, that he will be affected by what he's done for the rest of his days, and yet he already is what this world is making him.

Maybe you should fight harder for him to stay here.

You can only protect him if he is here. He is strong. You can already see that you can't keep him cooped up here, and he got through most of the Ruins alone. He's brave, he can survive and who would _want_ to hurt him? He's such a nice human. Maybe the combination of that and his strength will be enough.

If he dies, will his death stain your soul, the way Dhriti's has? Surely it's enough that you've helped him here – you promised not to leave the Ruins and you only promised to protect the humans so far as you could.

Should you or shouldn't you?

"Toriel, I have to go." His face is still pleading but he is already starting to turn away. "I'm sorry but I have to."

"Rhisiart…" You close your eyes and then open them and gesture for him to follow. "This way."

"Thanks!" He trots after you, smile bright on his face. You don't speak as you lead him down the stairs and through the corridor. You can't even look back at him until you've opened the door to the Ruins.

For a few seconds, you look at him and he looks at you.

"Good luck, Rhisiart," you say.

He surprises you by hugging you, hard. "I'll see you soon, Toriel. When we've gotten the barrier down. And me and you, we'll see that sunset, alright?"

Then he pulls his gloves on and walks out of the Ruins with only one backwards glance. You stare at the door for a long time, wondering if you should have followed, or kept him back. But you _promised_ you would not leave the Ruins and he will not be stopped. Instead, you return to the house and go into the guestroom. You see a note on the bed from Rhisiart, thanking you again for your kindness. Under the note is a drawing of you and him standing on a mountain, looking at the moon and stars. It makes you smile as you tuck it into your front pocket.

A month later – three weeks and five days after the event to be exact – a monster excitedly tells you about the human male who was killed near Snowdin by the King. He ran in too quickly, got captured just as quickly and died even more quickly – which is all he deserved because he killed some monsters (but not many, you later learn. Some monsters, he befriended, and most he convinced to let him go). All that was left of him on the ground when the King had collected his orange soul and bent to take his body away were his gloves, his shoes and his silly bandana. The monster you are speaking to got his shoes. You buy them off him for far more than they are worth.


	3. Integrity (Dark Blue)

**Disclaimer: I do not own Undertale**

 **A/n:** Possibly my last earlyish night for a while ... so enjoy!

 _ **Integrity**_ _ **(Dark Blue)**_

You find the next one in the same place you found Dhriti. The moment he sees you, he jumps up and backs away, shouting, "M-M-M-MONSTER!"

Which isn't quite the reaction you were hoping for.

"Do not be alarmed, my child," you say over the noise. "I am Toriel, caretaker of the Ruins." You're shouting as well now. "I am here to help you!"

The human's eyes narrow in suspicion but he does, at least, stop yelling. You take a moment to examine him. He's older than Chara but younger than Rhisiart – you're not sure of his exact age though when he yelled, his voice cracked a little – with black hair, narrow eyes and a narrow face. His skin is darker than Dhriti's was, but his face has the same determined set that Rhisiart's did. In his hands, he holds a pair of ballet shoes and a pink tutu and you're glad that you can't find a comparison here to the other children.

"Where is she?"

"Where is who?"

"My sister." Seeing your confusion, he takes a step forwards, anger filling that narrow face to the point that his teeth are almost bared. "She was up there on the mountain so where is she?"

You hold your paws up. "My child, you are the first human to fall here for a few years. I check this location every day – she is not here. I would have seen her if she had fallen."

He looks at you, the anger barely contained in his eyes as his nostrils flare. You can almost feel the weight of your sins – both imagined and real – crawling on your back.

"Fine." He looks around, his expression almost calm but the tension in his muscles and twitch in his fingers giving him away. "How do I get out then?"

"Out?"

"Outside. I have to find Sabah." He glances down at the items in his hands, and you can't help noticing that they are muddy. "She ran up the mountain. So if she's not here, she's got to be out there."

"She ran up the mountain?" You frown. "Forgive me, my child. I had understood that the nearest human settlement to the mountain-"

"She ran from Mom's car. I know she was up here because I found her ballet stuff." Now desperation seeps into his eyes. "You have to tell me: how do I get out?"

You don't know how to tell him that if he is here and she is still up there, she will likely die before he makes his way out. _If_ he makes his way out.

If.

You don't know if you can let another human child die. It's already hard enough to keep from thinking of-

"Follow me," you say. "I will take you to my home and we can talk there."

"I need to-"

"The only way out is through my home," you say firmly and he shuts up. That's the wrong way to think of it. He quietens down. You shouldn't be too harsh on him simply because he isn't acting as pleasantly as- "You are determined to go back?"

He nods. "Let no man go back on his word lest he be cast into shadow." As you stare at him, wondering where _that_ came from, he says, "I _said_ I'd get her back and I will."

You nearly say _And nothing I can say will change your mind?_ but you doubt his reaction will be pleasant. Nonetheless, Dhriti couldn't have been outside for more than ten minutes before Asgore found her and killed her – you can't just let him go out there, unprepared. If you simply left the Ruins, you could…

But no. You made a promise. You will not be the one to divide the Underground. You will not be there for Asgore to convince, or even to provide him with justification. But there is something you _could_ do, in case you can't keep him here.

You turn to him. "My child, I must go on ahead to fix something. Please stay here. If I have not returned in five minutes, you should start to make your way east." As his eyes widen, you add, "I should warn you that down here, you may encounter other monsters. You may need to defend yourself but … there is no need to resort to violence."

"Even if they attack me first?"

"Talk to them," you say, heart pounding at what you're starting here. "Just talk to them. They will not want to fight if they know you don't."

He considers this. "If they want to fight, I will fight them for he who strikes first knows he lays down his honour and his life. But if they do not want to fight at all then I won't. It is only fair."

You don't like the sound of that. "It is no small thing to take a life, my child."

"I…" His fingers are curled tightly into the muddy tutu he carries; you can see his knuckles whiten. "A … a man's integrity is his guide for without integrity, you are lost. And there is honour in killing, if killing is done in honour." He sounds as though he's trying to convince himself of something and you realise he's quoting someone. "I have to find my sister. That is the most important thing right now. If I have to k-kill then, then, then so be it. I'll do it. I'll do _anything_ if it means I save her." He pauses and then, bizarrely, puts the tutu on. "I won't take this off until I can give it to Sabah," he declares in the bold way that only a child can do without it sounding embarrassing. "If my actions mean I lose my integrity then this will catch me – it'll remind me of what I'm doing and why." He smiles then, the first smile he's worn since you've met him. It lights up his face. "Thank you for warning me, Toriel. I will wait for you here."

You're suddenly not sure you should leave him but you can't exactly change your mind now. So you walk for about five minutes and wait anxiously, pretending to be collecting something or other. As you wait, your heart is pounding. He's just a child. He's just a child and you're making him fight his way through the Ruins. What kind of monster are you?

Your relief, when he emerges into the room, panting, is almost tangible. But when you turn, you see human blood on his face and dust on the ballet shoes which he has slotted over his hands and your heart sinks.

He looks at those shoes. "I tried," he says. "But some of them…" He trails off. "Sabah. I have to find Sabah."

You nod. "I am sorry, my child. I was-"

"It was a test, wasn't it?" he says. You blink. "You wanted to know if I'm a monster too."

You try not to be hurt by that. "It was a test," you say, "but I was testing something else."

He nods. "Did I pass?"

"Yes."

"What would have happened if I hadn't?"

"If I could not return to you quickly enough then … you would not have made it here," you say because he deserves honesty. As his eyes widen, you say, "To return to the surface, you would have to pass through the remainder of the Underground, where I have little sway over the inhabitants. Some will try to capture or kill you – and if you are caught, Asgore will kill you instead. You … you are the third human to pass through here since it was decreed that all humans would be killed. The other two … they did not … survive."

He's quiet for a few seconds. Then he says, "I'm sorry."

You frown. "Whatever for, my child?"

"Your loss." As you blink in surprise, he says, "You loved the other humans, didn't you? You don't need to act strong in front of me. The man who weeps for his loss is the man who knows true strength after all."

A lump fills your throat and, somehow, you can't speak. You can see, in your mind's eye, golden flowers, striped shirts, leaves and a toy knife, a picture of a monster and a boy, and a gentle voice teasing you about your excitement for your pregnancy. But you can't let yourself think of that now. It's over. They're gone.

He nods even though you haven't said anything. "I'm sorry for calling you a monster, Toriel. It was wrong of me."

You find your voice again. "That _is_ what we are called," you say, keeping your voice even. _And that is what some of us are_ , you think.

"A cruel name is no name at all," he says and now you really want to know who or what he's quoting. "Maybe I should call you Undergrounders. That seems more fitting for people like you." He suddenly grins a crooked grin, giving him an air of playfulness. "Though it also sounds stupid, doesn't it? I'll think about it."

You smile. You don't know what it is about humans. Whenever you think that maybe you're wrong and everyone else is right, they prove you right. You extend a paw and, after removing one ballet shoe to clutch in his other hand, he takes it and gives it a friendly squeeze. He might be younger than Rhisiart but you think, deep down, he may have an older soul.

You heal his wounds back at your house and he thanks you for it. After that, you let him have a nap while you make food and think about what he said, about how going back on your word casts you into shadow. You tell yourself that if he leaves, you aren't going back on your word: you only promised to protect the humans insofar as you could. Your soul is still white. Monster souls are always white. You tell yourself that all through cooking but at the back of your mind, you can't help feeling that your soul can't handle another death and you find yourself trying to think of something, _anything_ , to say to the human that will convince him not to leave when you open the door to that room to call him to dinner. You don't even open your mouth – he jerks awake immediately, slots his feet into the ballet shoes rather than his normal shoes and follows you to the sitting room. You can't help noticing that he slept in the tutu.

He eats so quickly that you have to warn him about indigestion, which makes him laugh. You like that sound from him – it's warm and friendly and caring. You have the feeling he doesn't laugh a lot. But then, he stands, his plate completely empty.

"Thanks, Toriel. Let me know where I should put this and then I'll leave."

"You will not even stay the night?"

He shakes his head. "I have to get to Sabah as quickly as I can." He hesitates. "You could co-"

"No," you say, a little too harshly. "No," you say again. "Those of us down here … it would take too much for us to leave." You hesitate. "I cannot just let you leave. The dangers out there-"

His face screws up. "Please don't make me fight you or sneak around you," he says. "I will do it. I _have_ to get my sister."

"My child…"

"I won't say you didn't warn me. I know it's dangerous. But I'm going, one way or the other." He smiles again. "I hope you don't mind, I've left my shoes here. Sabah and I learned ballet together. I think these will … they'll keep me focused: they're not too painful. I, uh, I didn't have much money but I left you some-"

"Do not be silly, young one," you say as your heart sinks at the realisation that you will not keep him here. He is far too determined. And something tells you that if you try, he _will_ fight you and you don't want to know which one of you would win. "You don't need to give me anything."

"I have to repay you somehow. So please, take it." He looks around. "Anyway, how do I get out?"

You don't know what to do. You want to argue against him and stop him from leaving for his own good but you can still remember that barely contained anger on his face and his careful consideration of killing monsters. You don't know that you _could_ keep him here – or even that you should, given the danger his sister is in. So, reluctantly, you take him downstairs, asking again if he's sure he doesn't want to stay a little longer even though you know he won't. At the door to the Ruins, he turns to you and says, "I forgot to give you my name, didn't I? It's Salaamat." He inclines his head slightly. "Anyway, I'll head out from here. Thank you for looking out for me and for letting me stay with you, Toriel, and may blessings be upon your home, always."

And then he's gone before you can so much as say goodbye, leaving only a pair of black shoes and six coins behind.

You hear a few days later that he made it as far as Waterfall before Asgore found him. Much like Rhisiart, Salaamat killed monsters on his way – more than Rhisiart because Rhisiart tried to befriend those he met whereas Salaamat had some kind of belief that the only ones who deserved peace were those who never fought, and you suspect that most, if not all, of the monsters he killed tried to fight him first.

But you hear other things too.

You hear that when Asgore found him, his soldiers surrounded him as well. He stumbled and fell, losing his shoes, before he picked himself up and faced the King.

You hear that, barefoot, he stood tall among the pebbles that littered the floor, small cuts peppering his face and said the Undergrounders weren't monsters and nor was he.

You hear that as the soldiers tightened their circle around him, he said he needed to find his sister and was met with silence.

You hear that when the King lunged for him, he fought back strong and hard and when he died, he called Asgore a murderer.

You hear that a couple of monsters quit the Royal Guard after he died, saying they couldn't deal with that sort of thing.

You hear that his soul was blue, deep blue, and you think that suits him somehow, in the same way that light blue suited Dhriti and orange suited Rhisiart.

But for all the things you hear and all the speculation you listen to, you never do find out what happened to his sister.


	4. Justice (Yellow)

**Disclaimer: I do not own Undertale**

 **A/n:** Next one. In case you haven't guessed, the reason for me not specifying an update schedule is because I sometimes have weeks like this one, where I sit in my office until late every evening amending documents... I hope everyone enjoys this chapter!

 _ **Justice (Yellow)**_

You're nearly out of the room when you hear the thump. When you turn, you see a small figure push itself up carefully and, rather shakily, hold something up and point it at you. Pausing, you squint at the object, and then you freeze.

The object is a gun.

Your heart beats wildly. It's been a long time since you last saw a gun but you have by no means forgotten what they can do. Could you knock it out of the human's hands? You don't know.

"G-Greetings," you say in as firm a voice as you can, though you can hear the tremor there. "Welcome to the Underground. I am T-Toriel, caretaker of the Ruins." The human and the eye of the gun still look at you. "Are you hurt?"

"What are you?" The human's voice is young but curiously empty and that puts you even more on edge. "You don't look like anyone I know."

You try not to gulp. "I am a monster, young one. I live here."

"Then I'm in the right place."

"You, you are?"

The gun is still pointed at you. "They said kids like me should be burning in Hell with the monsters."

"Kids … like you?" You shake your head. "I am sure that is not tr-"

"He deserved it." The child looks up. "He hurt him. I couldn't… I did what I had to. That's why I threw myself down here." They look at you. "Are you here to punish me?"

"No," you say faintly. "I, er, intended to offer you a meal." The human seems confused so you decide to take advantage. You hold out one paw, hoping this isn't going to be the moment that the _other_ monsters are proven right. "I want to help you, my child."

"I'm not your child." Despite the reprimand in those words, the human doesn't sound angry. "I'm not anyone's child now." Another pause. "Why didn't jumping work?"

"My … what did you intend to do by jumping?"

"Burn in Hell."

You try hard to keep your voice even. "Then, er, what is the gun for?"

"In case it failed."

With a sudden feeling of dread, you realise that you that you can forget about keeping the human alive over the next few days or weeks – if you don't get hold of the gun, you're going to have a hard enough time for the next few _minutes_.

"Child, could I ask you to hand over the gun, please?"

"I can't."

In hindsight, you're not sure why you thought that would work.

"Please, child. Give me the gun. It is for your own good."

"I can't."

You don't know what to say. If the human has made up their mind that they need to be punished then-

An idea – a horrible, horrible, but maybe for the greater good idea – hits you.

"I've tried being nice, child, but now I must be firm," you say loudly. You hate how your voice gets louder when you lie. "You _must_ give me the gun. No human here may be armed."

"Huh?"

"These are the Ruins: your new home. All those who fall from the Surface are sentenced to live here."

"Sentenced? But you said-"

"You are younger than those who normally fall," you say even more loudly, "and it is policy to ease children into their sentence. But you have disobeyed me twice. I will ask once more: please hand over the gun."

The human steps forwards and now you can see her properly. She's small: maybe as old as Asriel and Chara were. Her hair is dark underneath a strange hat (a cowboy hat? Is that what they're called in those old movies?), her eyes are narrow and her skin is pale. She's skinny though you can't work out if she's _too_ skinny. Slowly, she extends her arm and you carefully take the gun. Once it is safely in one paw, you say, "What is your name, child?"

"Masako." Her voice is still curiously empty.

You extend your empty paw. "Follow me, Masako."

She takes hold of your paw and you try not to breathe a sigh of relief that that _worked_. Except now you have to pretend this is some kind of prison, otherwise she might-

You can do it. You just have to do it in such a way that when you reveal that she _isn't_ being punished, she won't … react badly.

You are not qualified for this.

You push that thought out of your head. You have to stay positive and focused. Although if Masako were to make her way out, or have some burning desire to escape, or even just get out of your sight…

You let go of her hand to fumble with the gun. They're not made for paws and it takes you about a minute to finally open it and remove the bullets from five of the chambers inside – one appears to be empty already. Then you hand it back to her.

"I must go ahead. If I have not returned in five minutes, please head east." You hand her the gun. "You may encounter others like me. Try not to fight them. Talk to them."

Masako looks at the gun. "I thought I wasn't supposed to be armed."

"Do you think you are armed, child?" you say although you're mentally cursing yourself for forgetting you told her that not more than fifteen minutes ago.

Thankfully, she seems to consider this as she inspects the gun further. "I can't use this."

"You should not have to."

You leave her then and, as you did years ago, walk for five minutes and wait. Ten minutes later, Masako arrives, her face as expressionless as it was before.

"I killed two monsters," she declares, holding the gun out to you. You take it, trying not to flinch at the chalky grip. "They were attacking others. Picking on them. I gave them what they deserved." She frowns slightly, which looks weird. "Does everyone here deserve to burn in Hell?"

"Nobody here deserves to burn in Hell, child."

"But I-"

"You are to live here, but this is not Hell." You look at her and wonder just _what_ happened to her on the Surface. But this is neither the time nor place so, instead of asking, you hold out your paw and ask her to follow you. This time, you speak a little about the Ruins, trying not to be put off by her complete lack of response which continues for the whole of the walk. Even when you arrive at the house, she doesn't speak, though her eyes widen slightly, and once inside, she sits in the living room and watches you. It's beginning to unnerve you.

She eats her dinner slowly, her eyes flickering around warily as she chews each bite. By the time you've finished, she's eaten maybe a quarter of the plate. So you sit and wait until she's eaten all of it, and then give her dessert even though it's probably past her bedtime. This turns out to be a mistake: she can't fathom why you would make her any kind of pie and convincing her to eat it takes more effort than making the pie in the first place did. Finally, you give up and send her to bed to sleep, which she does without complaint. You wait for a couple of hours, to make sure that she isn't about to sneak away, before hiding the gun and five bullets in the room at the end of the corridor, leaving quickly so that you won't look in the drawer of the table too closely. Then, before you go to bed, you go into the guest room to check on her.

She's thrashing and kicking and moaning but is very clearly asleep. You go to stroke her hair but the moment you touch her, she jumps and wakes, her eyes wide in the gloom.

"You were having a nightmare, my … Masako. I sought only to calm you."

There is sweat on her forehead, glistening in the light from the corridor. "Sorry."

"You have nothing to apologise for." You don't know what to do now. "Would you like to talk about it?" She shakes her head fiercely. "Would you like me to stay in here tonight?" She weighs this up and then shakes her head. That's you out of ideas. "OK," you say as firmly as you can. "Please do let me know if you would like anything though."

You're nearly at the door when she says, "I don't understand why you're being nice." You turn around. Her eyes almost seem black in the gloom. "I don't deserve it."

"Everybody deserves kindness."

"Not me."

"Everybody," you say firmly. "No matter what they have done or who they have killed. Everybody deserves a second chance. That is why you are here."

You're not sure you believe that actually – Asgore certainly doesn't deserve a second chance and with the amount of deaths and shadows that must be staining your soul, maybe you don't either – but it feels like the right thing to say. Masako considers this, nods, and lies back down. You don't think she believes you either.

The following day is just as strange. You wake Masako, give her breakfast and then teach her, which is fine because she does everything you ask her to. But when you suggest that she go out and play, she looks confused. Apparently playtime is not a punishment. So she ends up following you around the house and doing chores because you're fairly sure _that_ can be interpreted as a punishment. She remains quiet and morose until she sleeps, when she moans and kicks and thrashes. Once again, you go to calm her; once again, she wakes and can't understand why you're being nice to her.

On the third day, you discover something else more worrying. When you ask Masako to help sweep the floor of the kitchen (it doesn't need it but even when you said that prisoners in the Underground are allowed some time to relax, she still wouldn't play), you return about ten minutes later to find her holding a kitchen knife to her wrist. You snatch it off her before she _does_ anything with it but when you try to find out _why_ she did it, she only says that she deserves it. That night, you go to great effort to hide anything even remotely dangerous looking in the highest cupboards. You are _definitely_ not qualified for this.

The next day, you barely let her out of your sight. You start asking questions too. Not direct ones but trying to find out how she feels. That night, when she has nightmares, you wake her up again and ask her to tell you about the nightmare. When she refuses, you tell her she has no choice, which is a cruel and horrible thing to do but it _works_. Or sort of works. Her speech is fragmented and you don't get a coherent picture of what haunts her – a human man with claws for hands, a human boy with bones shattered, a human woman covered in blood, a gun and one bullet because that's all you need, one – but it's horrific enough that you hug her.

"Toriel?"

"You do not need to look for Hell, child," you say softly, blinking rapidly. "I think you already found it."

"But I-"

"Anybody who dreams what you dream is suffering more than they need to."

She doesn't have anything to say to that. But this time, when you let go and ask if she would like you to stay in her room tonight, she says yes. So you lie on the floor and don't sleep until you can hear even breathing from her.

Over the following days, things change, but slowly enough that you don't notice immediately. Masako starts to speak to you without you needing to speak to her. Her back straightens a little. She offers to help with a chore before you can ask her. She draws a four-leaf clover and hands it to you ("For luck," she says. "He always looked for them."). She asks you questions about yourself, about the Underground, about the monsters. She tries to run into a wall once (you'd think it was an accident but you saw her do it) and you can't exactly remove all of the walls so you watch her even more closely. You spend every night on the floor of her room.

Then she starts to offer opinions. She walks around the house of her own initiative, although you still follow to make sure she isn't looking for something deadly. She smiles once, in response to a joke you make. You gain two more clover pictures.

And as the days turn into weeks, she smiles more. She speaks a little more, though rarely about her life on the Surface. She stops talking so much about needing to be in Hell, though you can tell from the way she isn't walking completely straight that she is still weighed down with guilt. She laughs a few times, the first being when you explain that snail pie really is meant to be a treat rather than a punishment. When you suggest she play with some toys, she actually complies.

You start to think that maybe you can raise Masako and help her recover from her past: you clamp down on the thought that you had this idea before, years and years ago. There's no point worrying about the past – the only way to redeem yourself is the future. So you can, you tell yourself. You definitely can. But then, when you walk through the Ruins together one day (you still won't let her stay in the house alone), she hears two monsters talk about the war and human souls. It's only passing conversation but the one thing you've learnt about Masako by now is that she is smart. She asks you about it later and, grudgingly, you tell her about the war, and Asgore's decree.

She looks thoughtful. "What started the war?"

"Fear."

"And Asgore wants to kill us because we sent you all here?"

It hurts but you just about manage to say, "He is a monster, child. That is all there is to it."

"But the other monsters want us dead too, don't they? They can't all be bad."

She asks a few more questions over the next few days about the war. Then she asks about the other humans who fell down here. She asks about the other monsters and how they are. The conversations are strange and maybe even a little painful. You don't think you give anything away but after one line of questioning, Masako says, "You're like me, aren't you?" Some of your confusion must show on your face because she says, "You want to hurt the person who hurt the people you loved." She looks at you curiously. "Why don't you?"

"Violence is never the answer, child," you say and resolve to keep a tighter check on your emotions about the past. You're making the right choice. You have to believe that.

Finally, one evening, at dinner, she says, "The Underground is a prison, isn't it?"

"I prefer to think of it as-"

She shakes her head. "Not for me. You made that up, didn't you? It's a prison for monsters. The whole thing, including whatever's beyond that door in the basement. But only because humans made it one."

"Masako-"

"You don't deserve it." She looks up. "I can kinda understand Asgore. Why should kids like me get to play in the sunshine but monster kids have to stay down here?"

"Two wrongs do not make a right, Masako," you say quietly.

"Not always," she says. "But sometimes, you have to do something wrong to fix a wrong, as long as you know what the price is."

She won't say anything else about the topic and you assume she's just going through one of her melancholy phases. But when you wake up the next morning, she's gone, with only the clothes on her back and the hat that's a little too big for her. You look all through the house and then the Ruins, but she's nowhere to be seen. Confused, you return to the house and that's when you notice that the cupboard where you keep the key to _his_ room is open. Frowning, you walk towards it.

The key is gone.

You turn and run through the living room, down the corridor, paws thudding heavily on the floor. The door is open. Inside, a piece of paper sticks out of the drawer in the table where you hid the gun and five bullets.

 _I have to do this Toriel. I know what the price is and I want to pay it. I know why you didn't and I understand. I'm sorry._

 _Love_

 _Masako_

You nearly run out of the Ruins. You actually get as far as the exit, with your paw on the handle, but you can't take that extra step. You swore you wouldn't leave the Ruins and too much time has passed for you to reveal yourself now. And you tried. Nobody can say you didn't try. Besides, maybe you've misunderstood the note. You've been wrong before.

Why can't you make good on both of your promises?

You hear about her a few weeks later. She made it to the end of Hotland before Asgore saw her. She held out the gun she stole from _his_ room and declared that she was there to see justice done. Asgore struck her down to the cheers of those around him.

The really strange thing, you hear, is that when they picked the gun up afterwards, it was empty. Nobody is sure exactly who she killed on her way to the Hotland nor why she threatened Asgore with a gun that wouldn't work, but it's not important. The important thing is that she was stopped and her yellow soul added to the other human souls.

Distantly – because you feel strangely empty and hollow – you wonder how much searching for those six dust piles and bullets the monsters will do before they realise the truth. Because you, of course, know exactly where the bullets are: one is in the body of a human with claws for hands and five are in the drawer in a table in a room you keep locked. How else could Masako guarantee that she would be the only one to die that day?

Something was done when Asgore struck a human child down in Hotland but, somehow, you're struggling to believe it was justice.


	5. Perseverance (Purple)

**Disclaimer: I do not own Undertale**

 **A/n:** I apologise in advance for any typos. I am rather shattered after working about 19 hours straight yesterday so my proof-reading may be a little sub-par...

 _ **Perseverance (Purple)**_

You have been in the room for some time when the human falls with a little shriek, a thump and the sound of something hard hitting something solid. Immediately, you run over and check her for injuries; apart from a few cuts and bruises, she seems fine. It's strange: the distance between the ground and the entrance through which the humans fall is large and yet they never suffer more than a few bruises and cuts.

The human's eyes flutter open. She's female and pale-skinned with long blonde hair and blue eyes. Some of the cuts decorate her cheek and she looks somehow fragile, as though the slightest wind could blow her over. Her fingers clutch a notebook. When she sees you, her body stiffens so you take a step backwards.

"Are you hurt, young one?" you say. "Would you like me to help you up?"

The human squints. "Wh-who s-s-said that?"

You take a step forwards again. "I did, child. I am called Toriel."

"Y-you seen my g-g-glasses?"

At least she isn't screaming, you think as you look around for her glasses. Sure enough, they're lying amidst the golden flowers on the grave, looking cloudy and a little worse for wear but otherwise intact. You pick them up and hand them to the human, who has, by this point sat up.

"Ch-cheers," she says. She slots the glasses on and looks at you. Then she screams so loudly that you wince. She must have _really_ bad eyesight if she's only now noticed how you look.

"Do not be alarmed, my child," you say once the screaming has cut out and before the hyperventilating can kick in. "I am not here to hurt you. I am here to help you adjust."

The human paws at her eyes. "A-adjust?"

"Yes. You have landed in the Ruins. I am afraid there is nowhere beyond here you can go where you would not be in mortal danger. As such, this is your new home. Welcome."

"M-m-my new home?"

"I am afraid so, young one," you say, slightly hating yourself for it, but knowing that this has to be better than what's out there. It hasn't been that long since the last death. And if you can stop her from leaving then maybe... "You cannot leave the Ruins."

She just blinks behind her glasses. You extend your paw but she flinches and ducks slightly so you let it drop to your side.

"Come, child." Your voice is a little too loud, presumably to make up for whatever just happened there. "Let me take you to a safer place."

She's sitting up straight again but is regarding you with suspicion. "W-what happens if I d-don't go w-with you?"

"I suppose you could make your own way through the Ruins," you say, trying to sound as gentle and even as you can. "But either way, you will arrive at my home."

She seems to consider this. "I, I should l-look for myself. J-j-just in c-case."

You don't see how that will make her any safer but you don't want to pressure her, especially given how much she's stuttering. Besides, you will need to test her, as you did before (even if, ultimately, it didn't achieve anything). And she clearly doesn't trust you.

So you say, "If that is what you wish then by all means. However, you need only shout and I will be there." You hesitate and then say, "Many of the inhabitants here may try to fight you but they are scared. Talk to them. They do not really want to fight."

The human nods. "O-OK."

She seems to be waiting for you to leave so you do, striding ahead, but not too far ahead. If she screams, you will return. That's what you tell yourself.

At first, you don't hear anything as you walk slowly ahead. Then, about halfway to your home, you hear voices and mumbling and then shouting. You're about to turn back when you hear a stutter and footsteps and then her voice as she encounters someone else.

You wait for her by the tree that stands above Dhriti's body, on the leaves that always fall. She arrives maybe ten minutes later, and now there are little patterns of blood dripping from those cuts that decorate her cheek. Dusty fingers clutch that little, purple notebook so tightly that her knuckles are white. But when she looks at you from behind those cloudy glasses, her gaze is steady and you can't help but notice that she isn't as young as you thought she was – she's Rhisiart's age, maybe even older.

"D-do I have to go through, through you as well?"

"Where are you going to, child?"

That stops her. "Y-you said I c-couldn't leave?"

"If you leave, you will almost certainly die."

"Like wh-whoever owned that, that ribbon I saw down one of the, the holes?"

Your breath catches for a moment. "Yes."

She looks at you curiously. "H-how'd she d-die?"

"The King killed her when she left the Ruins."

"Oh. Why?"

"Because he kills all humans he meets."

You could elaborate but you don't think you need to. This is all the human needs to know. There's no point reliving the past.

"B-but h-he's only one, one man, isn't he?" she asks, oblivious to your musing. "I mean m-monster. Is, is that what you're called?" You nod. "S-so I could j-just go round him, right?"

"It is not that easy, child. Other monsters would try to capture or kill you. If they kill you, they can take your soul."

The human goes unexpectedly silent then, which you're a little grateful for. But when you ask whether you can heal her wounds and give her some food, she only nods and follows you inside, keeping a distance away from you at all times. You show her the room where she will sleep and tell her to relax or play while you make food. Still, she doesn't say much aside from _Ch-cheers_ but you put it down to the situation simply being overwhelming for a human child.

She's sitting on the floor of her room, diligently writing in that notebook she carried with her, when you enter to call her to dinner. She jumps when she sees you, pushes her glasses further up her nose and then stands, clutching the notebook. You don't question it. Let her have her privacy. If she wants to talk about it, she will.

She's still stuttering at dinner – you're beginning to think it might be a speech impediment rather than prolonged terror – and she asks you questions about the Ruins and the Underground. Lots of questions. If you're ever reluctant to answer, she thinks of another way to ask the same thing. Sometimes, she scribbles something in the notebook and then looks back up at you expectantly. Eventually, she goes to bed of her own accord. She sticks something under the door so that you can't open it easily but at least you know she isn't about to escape.

You're not sure what to expect the next morning but she dresses, comes to the kitchen and warily asks if you want a hand with breakfast. While you're eating, she asks what she's meant to do if she can't leave, and it sounds slightly aggressive though her expression is calm. You tell her that you thought maybe you could teach her some maths today.

"W-what's the p-p-point?" she says and now there's a little sullenness in her tone. "If I c-c-can't l-leave then why, why would I n-need to know m-m-maths?" She looks at her food. "What, what'd I b-be learning _for?_ "

"To prepare for your own life one day in the-"

"B-but you said they'll t-t-take my s-soul if I try to l-leave. So, so what life?" She sighs. "I sh-shouldn't have left C-Coyle and the others. I coulda t-taken it." But even as she says it, her fingers fidget and she opens her notebook, scribbling something there.

You don't say anything. You can't.

Finally, she stops scribbling and looks at you. "I g-guess I should go l-learn maths then."

It's a little abrupt but it's better than nothing so you try to teach her maths, and then reading. She's clearly smart – though her handwriting is atrocious and there are strange gaps in her knowledge – but you can't help feeling that she's only sitting here because she doesn't have anything else to do.

After her lessons, you suggest she play and maybe go for a walk in the yard – though you remind her not to stray too far lest she disturb monsters – but she sits in the living room with her notebook and writes. You read. It's the first time since her arrival that you've felt the silence between you might be companionable.

After an hour or so, you ask what she's writing. She jumps with surprise and you can see a line form on the page. For a couple of seconds, you wonder whether she will answer.

But then she says, "Stories."

"What type of stories?"

She smiles slightly. "All k-kinds. Aloisia and the, the others, they always get m-mad when I write but the little ones l-like my stories. So Coyle l-lets me write them 'cause he hates it m-more when they whine." She pauses. "I w-wonder who's l-looking after them after I, I ran a-away."

"Is that why you ran up the mountain, young one?" you ask even though you promised yourself you wouldn't.

She nods. "It, it was the, the only p-p-place I could go where I knew M-M-M-Makya wouldn't go." She glances around and barks a short laugh, though her hand is clenched so tightly around her pen that it must be painful. "I can see wh-why."

"Surely if you went-"

"Where?" The look she gives you is scornful, even behind those glasses. "If you're with C-Coyle then you h-haven't g-got anywhere to g-go. C-Coyle was the, the first. He knows the most. B-but all of us are just … there." She glances up. "But Makya, he, he, he, he was going, going to…" She fidgets. "He, he did it b-before. I c-c-couldn't…"

The skin on her face is bright red and she won't look at you. Tentatively, you reach out to her but she flinches away, her jaw set in an expression that makes you think she's trying not to cry.

"Child, is it so much worse to be here than up there with this Makya?"

She glances at her notebook and writes something, pressing the pen to the page with such force that the page rips. She breathes out. The skin on her face is still red.

"You, you d-don't understand," she says quietly. "I won't be tr-trapped. Not again. I c-can't. Th-that's why I was … how Coyle f-found me." The pen drops from her fingers. "I j-just wanna be f-f-free without no one try-trying to h-h-hurt me."

You look at her then and find that you have no words to say. When you reach for her, she flinches away again, and you begin to have a feeling of just what this Makya and other humans did to her. You know the children are innocent (mostly) but, as you've done so many times before, you can't help feeling there's something inherently _wrong_ with humanity. Something that inspires this kind of cruelty.

But then didn't you once live with-

The human asks to go for a walk so you let her go because you can hardly say _no_ after what she's just said. You potter around the house a bit and then leave to get groceries. But when you reach the balcony, you see her there, legs dangling over the edge, scribbling furiously with tears sliding down her cheeks.

She flinches away when you reach for her, one hand pawing furiously at her eyes under her glasses.

"It's n-nothing," she hisses, still rubbing furiously. "I, I just … n-nothing."

"Child-"

"It's _nothing_."

She stands and stalks away – you watch her go into the house before deciding there is nothing you can do. So you go to get groceries, hoping all the while that the human is OK.

When you return, she is sitting near the stairs, looking down pensively. Her face is still red and tear-stained but when she turns to you, her expression makes it clear that she doesn't want to talk about it. You don't reach for her this time but as you start to make dinner, you shout conversation to her. No questions. Just talk.

That evening, when you both sit down to eat, she says, "T-Toriel? Why, why are you b-being so nice to me?"

You look up and realise you don't know what to say to that. For a few seconds, you simply look at her.

"Because I can, child," you finally say. "Because I want to."

"S-Some kinda regular-day s-saint then?" You're almost used to the way her comments sound aggressive even when you don't think she intends them to be by now. "Sh-Showing the world that m-monsters aren't m-monsters? Or tr-trying to, to break away from the others?" You shake your head but don't answer her. "Is it a, a trick? Like, wh-what _really_ h-happened to the other humans?"

You look across at her. "There is no trick, child."

She considers this. "But n-n-nobody's as n-nice as you act. N-Not even Amparo and she's never hit nobody."

"I do not know what to say to you, child. I help because I want to help."

"Nah. There's, there's gotta b-be something else to you." You look away. She catches it. "There _is_ s-something. You g-got a s-secret, d-don't you? Something b-bad you d-do." She smiles and it's pleased but not smug. "D-Don't worry, Toriel. I won't j-judge."

"There is no secret nor hidden depths, child," you say but you can't stop yourself from adding, "I promised, a long time ago, to help those humans who fell here. To save them if I could. I have not saved a single one but still, I try."

You expect her next words to be satisfied but, instead, she says, "You th-think that m-makes you a bad person, don't you?"

"I…"

"'Cause there are w-worse things to do than tr-try and fail to, to save people, you know. B-Believe me. I know b-bad people." She looks at you thoughtfully. "S-So you promised to k-keep us safe, huh?"

"Insofar as I can, child."

"From the K-King?" You don't say anything. "Wh-what's his problem anyway? He psycho?" You start to open your mouth but she seems to take pity on you because she says, "It p-probably don't matter. P-people like him and, and Makya and Aloisia, you d-don't reason with them. You persevere till you can g-get out or, or get e-even." She scribbles something in that notebook. You wonder what she will do when she runs out of paper. "Toriel?" she says and now she sounds somehow young. "What, what would you d-do if I tr-tried to l-leave?"

"Child-"

She shakes her head. "I c-can't stay here. I, I tried but…" She swallows. "The, the key to s-survival is knowing when you gotta run and, and when you c-can stay. And if I stay…" She looks around, then up, and then at you. "U-Usually I can stick, stick things out but I, I'd rather d-die trying than…"

She doesn't finish but she doesn't have to. You both know that whatever you do, she is going to attempt to leave tonight. Can you let another child go? Can you keep her here against her will? Salaamat said those who go back on their promises are cast into shadow; Masako said sometimes you have to do something wrong to fix a wrong. You promised to keep her safe so far as you could – does that mean physically stopping her? You don't doubt that she knows where the exit is and you don't doubt that she will do whatever she thinks she has to in order to leave. Despite her fragile appearance and stutter, there is steel in her soul. To go through what she has and be as she is, you have to be your own brand of tough. She's right: you have to persevere.

And maybe that's enough. She's not like Dhriti – timid and broken – nor Rhisiart or Salaamat, who both thought they were tough but had no real knowledge of what toughness was. There's something of Masako in her, you think, but it's not self-destructive. She knows what it is to fight to survive. Maybe it would be better for her to let her go than to keep her. Maybe your soul will sink so far into darkness that it will come out again, shining white.

That evening, you leave food on the counter, ostensibly not bothering to put it away, and you leave a pair of new shoes near the front door (they're an odd habit of yours now. Whenever shoes or clothes fall to the underground, you pick them up. Just in case). You don't hug her goodnight and when you wake in the morning, the bedroom door is open, the food is gone, the shoes have been replaced by the tatty trainers she wore and on the kitchen table is a bracelet and a note which only says, _For Toriel. Thank you. I'll make sure you keep your promise._

You suppose you shouldn't be surprised when you learn that she didn't make it. She got to Waterfall, near Gerson. She'd killed monsters and it had scared inhabitants. You suppose you shouldn't be surprised at that either. From what little you learnt of her life, you got the impression she was used to violence.

Still. Now that it's happened, you can't help thinking that you _could_ have stopped her. You could have locked the door. You could have destroyed it. You could have tied her to a bed. You could have stopped her. You could have told her that you knew better than she did, that it is easy to say you would give up your life when you aren't faced directly with the prospect. That you could have _helped_ her. And because you _could_ have, you _should_ have, regardless of what she said. But that guilt, that feeling of, _you could have_ doesn't horrify you anywhere near as much as learning that on the inside cover of the notebook that Gerson took from her to sell, the words _This book is the property of Etana_ were inscribed.

Etana.

Her name was Etana.

You talked about trying to keep your promise and yet you didn't even ask her name. Did you expect to keep her alive? Did you even try?

What are you now, if not your promise to those children and your promise never to leave? If they took _your_ soul, would it have a colour like the purple of Etana's soul, or the yellow of Masako's? Because from where you're standing, you feel as though maybe all you are is a promise that was made to be broken and a promise that's never going to break, and the only colour your soul would show would be that of shadows and grey. Or maybe it would be white. After all, isn't white the colour of a monster's soul?

Your eyes are dry and your expression is calm as you lock her bracelet in the room you never go into.

Next time, you promise yourself, knowing that you've told yourself this five times before and that you'll probably tell yourself it five times more. Next time, you'll do better.


	6. Kindness (Green)

**Disclaimer: I do not own Undertale**

 **A/n:** Last one - hope you enjoy and happy Easter.

 _ **Kindness (Green)**_

You find the next one studying the flowers that cover the grave. You don't say anything as you walk closer but the human hears your steps and looks up. He's young, you think, but by no means the youngest to have fallen down here. He's shorter than the others too and round where they were thin. His skin is almost the same colour as Chara's, though he bears little other resemblance. His hair is short, his nose is broad and his eyes when he looks at you are warm and brown. He's smiling a toothy smile.

"Hi," he says cheerfully. "I'm Karunal. Nice to meet you."

"Greetings, child," you say. "I am Toriel, caretaker of the Ruins."

He looks you up and down. "Hi, Toriel. Are you a minotaur? Oh, no, wait, those were bulls. Is everyone down here like you? Is that why they said not to come up here?"

"Er."

"Sorry. Mom says I talk too quickly but this is just so amazing. Where am I anyway?"

You can't help it – you laugh. His smile grows slightly. You have a feeling the pair of you are going to get along.

"This is the Underground, little one, and these are the Ruins. Home of the monsters."

"Monsters?" He peers at you. "You don't look like a monster to me."

"Monsters is the name of my race. It was given to us by humans."

"Oh, well that wasn't very nice of us. Why'd we do that?"

You hesitate but you don't want to start with a lie. "Fear. Once upon a time, your race was scared of us."

"But you're so _nice_. You're _much_ nicer than Torgunna and Necho and Matty and the others. They'd have hit me by now 'cause they say I don't know when to shut up."

It's a selfish thought but you don't know if you can handle another broken child.

"I will never hit you, child." You pause. "Are Torgunna, Necho and Matty your friends?"

"Yeah. Well, kinda. They just like playing jokes. Hiding shoes, locking me in the cupboard that sorta thing." He pauses thoughtfully. "They're probably real worried about me. They said Pahana – that's Shilah's brother – had gone missing and maybe he'd run up here. Course no one wanted to come up 'cause of the rumours so I said I'd go 'cause someone had to. They didn't think I would but I did. They called me about halfway up though, said they'd got Pahana." He pauses again. "Necho was laughing though. I heard someone ask why he'd told me to go up the mountain and he said he didn't think I'd 'fall or hit' or something. But what was he gonna do? Someone had to look for Pahana."

You try to digest this as quickly as you can. The human looks at you with utter sincerity and you can't bring yourself to doubt him even if you want to doubt children who would hit him. Maybe this Necho really was worried that Karunal would fall.

"So," Karunal says, looking around, "How do I get out?"

Your next breath in is audible and the child's eyes snap to you. "I am afraid that you cannot leave the Ruins, young one. If you leave, you will almost certainly die."

His mouth is an open O of shock. For a few seconds, he only stares at you.

"That kinda sucks," he says. "D'you mean like actually die?"

"You will lose your soul."

"Oh. Uh. OK. Yep, that definitely sucks. Can I at least call my parents? They're gonna wonder where I am." He plunges a hand into a pocket in his trousers and retrieves a mangled piece of plastic and electronics. "Huh. Well, that's not gonna work. Hey, can I borrow your phone? Do you even get phones down here? Bet there's no signal."

Wordlessly, you hand him your phone. He dials a number but it doesn't seem to go through. You've never tried calling the Surface before so maybe no one's picking up. Or maybe you really can't do it.

He lets out a breath and hands it back. "Maybe they'll come look for me then … except they won't be able to leave either. Huh." He shakes his head and smiles again, though it doesn't reach his eyes. "Sorry, Toriel. No point complaining, huh? So, uh, where do humans go if we can't leave the Ruins?"

"You can live with me, innocent one."

"Er, you can call me Karunal, you know. Kaz for short. D'you really take on all the humans? You must have a _huge_ house."

"There are no humans here, ch- Karunal."

His eyes are wide again. "Am I _dead_? Is this the part where you tell me this is heaven or something?"

"Um…" You try to think of a way to say it. "You are alive, little- Karunal. But it has been many years since a human last fell here. And she died when she left the Ruins."

"She left? Why'd she leave if she knew she was gonna die?"

You think back to Etana, with her tough attitude and hatred of being trapped and say, "For her, some things were worse than death."

"Wow." He blinks. "Anyway, should we go?"

You nearly say _go where?_ It must be the first time that a human has fallen down and been willing to listen to you straight away. You hold out a paw and he takes it instantly. He might actually be it. He might be the human you can _save_. You promised after all. You _will_ do it.

And yet, if he leaves…

Not that it helped any of the other children. But maybe, just maybe…

You ask him to walk across a room by himself, which he does with no problem. Then you explain the basics of puzzles and monsters to him, encouraging him to just _talk_ to the monsters, even though none of the other humans listened to you when you said that. Finally, you tell him you need to go ahead but that he should wait for you. You would give him your number except you've seen what happened to his phone. Maybe you should have gotten another phone from somewhere. Too late to worry now. Hopefully your mere presence will cow most of the monsters into behaving.

You go ahead and stop to collect a few things here and there. You even stop briefly to get food from a nearby sale, thinking that you could bake something nice for Karunal if he makes it. When he makes it. It seems unfair because you gave the other humans shorter tests, when they didn't choose to go alone by themselves, but you have to know. There's no harm in being prepared, right?

When he doesn't appear, you start to make your way back. Your heart beats faster with each step you take until you hear a cheerful, familiar voice talking and another familiar voice respond. You walk into the next room to see Karunal and a migosp dancing away. When Karunal sees you, he waves cheerily. There are a couple of cuts on his arm and you feel irritated that the monsters _did_ disobey you and attacked him. But you smile and wave. The migosp looks uncertain.

"Hey, Toriel. Sorry, I kinda got bored and figured I'd find you. Have you met Migosp? He's a real good dancer."

"We have met," you say and can't keep the amusement out of your voice.

"Cool. Hey, everyone down here's so nice. The vegetoids even gave me some food. Are they coming with us?"

"They are welcome to come if they so wish, but I doubt they want to come."

"Huh, OK. Let's go then." He turns to the migosp. "Nice to meetcha. I'll come dance again, alright?"

The migosp waves, which is surprising given how much they tend to crave solitude. All the way to the house, Karunal talks. He says that many of the monsters tried to attack him but once he got to know them, they were happy to leave him alone. The loox made the biggest impression: Karunal constantly returns to the fact that the loox was happy to talk and leave Karunal alone when Karunal said he wouldn't pick on him.

In the house, you tell Karunal he can play or take a nap while you make dinner, provided that he doesn't go downstairs. Then you show him the room he is to sleep in and leave him alone. At dinner, you expect him to be talkative at dinner but while he eats the food without complaint and answers your questions, he's clearly preoccupied with something. Eventually, you ask if he's OK.

He nods. "Yeah, it's … can I ask a sorta weird question, Toriel?" You nod. "Where'd … where'd the toys and clothes and shoes come from?"

"Most of them, I found or bought." You hesitate. "As I say, you are not the first human to fall down here."

"Did they _all_ die?" You nod. "Were they all kids like me?" You nod again. He sits back in his chair with a little _whump_ sound. "You weren't kidding, huh? Did they all leave the Ruins?" You nod for a third time. "Why?"

"It is of no importance now, Karunal." You stand up, suddenly finding that you can't look him in the eye. "Would you like dessert?"

His eyes light up. "Yeah!" As you head to the kitchen to pull out the pie, he says, "Hey, Toriel, d'you want me to cook tomorrow? I don't wanna brag but I'm an _awesome_ cook. Even Torgunna says so even if Necho says only sissies know how to cook."

You smile at his enthusiasm. "If it would bring you pleasure, you are more than welcome to help with the cooking. But for tonight, it is dessert and then time for bed."

He cheerfully agrees, finishing his dessert and going to bed without protest. The next day, you start to teach him, as you did with Dhriti and Masako and Etana. He's as enthusiastic here as he is in everything else he does, even though he hates reading ("The letters just aren't where they're meant to be, Toriel") and struggles with basic maths and science questions. Whenever he makes a mistake, he laughs it off, though he seems pleased when you don't laugh at him. In the afternoon, he asks if he can play with the monsters. You agree but insist you go with him, for safety. Your fears turn out to be misplaced: the monsters he runs into remember him and are happy to talk. It actually makes for a pleasant afternoon. In the evening, you let him help you cook and he's right: he is a good cook.

The next few weeks follow a similar pattern: study in the morning, Ruins exploration in the afternoon, and cooking in the evening. You hit a good rapport with him, laughing off your bad gardening ("Someone used to live here who did the gardening. I am trying to maintain it."), hunting for bugs ("We're gonna let them go, aren't we, Tori? Tori? _Tori?_ ") and challenging each other to bake-offs . He's always smiling, always cheerful, always willing to laugh at himself and always willing to believe in the good of others. But sometimes, the smile slips a little, or he makes a comment about missing his family and friends, or he makes a joke that's clearly not a joke about himself. The moment you try to address it, however, he smiles sunnily and changes the topic. And you can't exactly talk because there are some topics you do not address: the lives of the children before him; your loneliness; whether there are any nice monsters in your life.

One day, he slumps into his seat and sighs. When you ask him what's wrong, he doesn't shoot you a cheerful smile.

"It's Leif's birthday today."

Leif is Karunal's cousin – as close to him as a brother in many ways. You rub the human's back comfortingly as he slumps forwards.

"I was just thinking, they all think I'm dead. Leif's birthday's probably rubbish 'cause of me."

"Karunal-"

He breathes in. "Sorry, Tori. I just miss him, you know? And my parents. And my friends. I dunno, do you ever get that? Like, you miss people and suddenly you can't stop?"

Almost unbidden, you think of Asgore, and Asriel and Chara. Of nights sitting with Asgore under artificial stars, of holding Asriel in your arms when he was a baby, of playing games with Asriel and Chara. And then, of course, you think of the tree with no leaves in the yard, the box of shoes, the picture of a monster and a human boy, the toy knife that Karunal has unknowingly moved to the balcony, and six coins, five bullets and a bracelet.

He's looking at you with concern in his eyes. "The children from before?"

You look away. "It is tough to go through what you are going through. Would you like some time alone?"

He actually frowns for a few seconds but then he smiles a smile that doesn't reach his eyes. "No. I don't wanna think about it too much. Let's read."

You read with him and teach him and let him play but that day, it feels as though both of you are going through the motions. The feeling doesn't fade for a few days. You think that would be hard enough but Karunal keeps smiling all the way through it and the only time the smile reaches his eyes is when you present him with an apron and pan which you buy on one of your grocery shopping trips. So you smile too and you don't think the smile reaches your eyes either.

Although his natural cheer seeps back, things have changed somehow. You catch him looking at the exit to the Ruins once and you can almost see the longing on his face. You overhear him talking to his monster friends about humans and what's outside the Ruins. Once, you find him at Chara's grave, looking thoughtfully upwards. More than once, he asks about the children who preceded him and the more you avoid the subject, the more he latches on to it.

Until one day, you get up and go to wake him, only to find he's not in the bed. A familiar, sick feeling rises up in your stomach as you walk out of the room to check the living room and the kitchen and the yard. Stupid. Stupid, stupid, stupid. You should have known you couldn't keep a human here. Always, _always_ , they leave and then … and then…

You start to head to the stairs, knowing what you're going to find when you hear a crashing noise from the … corridor. The bedroom corridor. You turn and that's when you notice the door to the locked room is slightly ajar.

"Huh. Oh, hey, Tor-"

He squeaks as you charge in and hold him tightly to you. When you finally release him, he coughs a little. There's a guilty glint in his eye.

"I'm sorry," he says quickly. "I just wanted to know what was in here, that's all. I thought I could paint it maybe, since you keep saying you need to decorate it and that's why I can't go in. How come you never open the door? It looks fine. And are these _bullets_? I … Tori? Tori, don't cry. Please don't cry. I'm sorry. I am. I really am." He hugs you. "Please don't cry."

You wipe your eyes with a paw. "I am sorry, child," you say in a voice that is far too shaky. "When I woke and could not find you…"

Realisation fills his face. "You thought I left the Ruins, didn't you?" You nod. "Is that…" He looks again at the bullets and the other items on the desk. "Are these all you have left of the other kids?"

You nod again. You haven't been in this room for a long time but even now, your paw traces easily over the three leaves, the picture, the six coins, the five bullets and the bracelet. You close your eyes and breathe out.

Quietly, almost too quietly to hear, Karunal says, "Tori? I take it back. You should cry."

You look down at him. "My child?"

He smiles then and it's a funny smile because it reaches his eyes but it's not happy. "You don't gotta be strong all the time. Sometimes, you gotta let out how you feel. Mom says it helps to cry."

You try to smile. "Does that advice apply to you, Karunal?"

The smile stiffens and he glances away. "I don't have as much to cry about. I didn't lose five children."

"You lost your family."

He freezes now. The smile looks almost grotesque.

"I … well, they're still alive. I just can't... If I leave the Ruins, I'm just gonna be, like, a bracelet or something. Aren't I?" He hesitates. "Tori, what … what is it out there that kills kids? 'Cause the monsters in the Ruins don't think there is anything dangerous out there."

You should lie but you say, "The King."

"The King? But everyone thinks he's great. They say he's a really nice guy who wouldn't hurt a fly."

You should be quiet. You should distract him. You should talk about other things, anything, so long as he doesn't leave and you don't have to talk about everything that came before. All these things you _should_ do and _should have_ done … but when you look in his direction, you can see leaves, notes, a bracelet, coins, bullets and, beyond them, a toy gun, some golden flowers, an old paper clipping and all of those _should_ and _should haves_ just…

"He will hurt a human," you say. "He has killed five already and he has done so regardless of what they said or did. If you escape him, other monsters will attack you. Their desire for your soul will outweigh their integrity." Your voice is almost dream-like now. "And even if you made it to the end, you would be unable to leave unless you also had a monster's soul."

You wait for him to make a joke but he says, "Why are you telling me this, Tori?"

Because all you've accomplished in God knows how many years is making promises and breaking those promises. Because you didn't even ask Etana's name. Because you slept through Masako's escape, because you just let Salaamat and Rhisiart go, because you didn't reach Dhriti in time to save her, because you weren't there to stop Asriel from going to the Surface, because you still don't know what made Chara sick, because, because, because…

"Because one day, you might need to know it."

His eyes widen. For a moment, you two just look at each other.

"Have you ever met the King, Tori?"

"I knew him, once."

"Did he come to the Ruins?"

You close your eyes to banish images of the way your house used to look.

"He used to live here. A very long time ago." For a few seconds, you are both silent. Then you shake your head. "Let us speak no more of these things. Come, little one. It's time for breakfast."

He looks at you as though he might object but then he takes your paw. After a few seconds, he says, "Is he evil?"

It feels as though the ground has fallen away. You take a breath to stop yourself from stuttering. "I do not know," you say slowly. "But I despise him."

His eyes are wide when you look at him. "Really?" You nod. "Have you tried talking to him though? 'Cause you said all monsters could be reasoned with and I reckon everyone can be saved, so I thought maybe if I-"

"No, Karunal."

"Maybe he doesn't know much about humans. If I sat down-"

"No, Karunal." When he opens his mouth, you say, "I know him, Karunal. He is weak. A populist. He is lost deep in grief. He is broken. He lives for one purpose now and that is to kill any human he sees so he can pretend he is trying to free us. You can say whatever you want to him – he will not listen."

"Toriel, you-"

" _No_ , Karunal."

"You're shaking." You look down at him and then at your paws. Funny. They _are_ shaking. He takes them in his tiny human hands and looks up at you. "This is what it feels like to miss someone you love and not stop, isn't it?"

"Karunal…"

He looks up at you. "What would it take to make you happy, Tori?"

The simplicity of that question catches you off guard and you don't respond. You are happy, aren't you? Happy as you can be. Happy as long as you don't think about…

You cough. "Come, child. Let us eat breakfast."

"But you didn't-"

"Please."

He follows you. For the rest of the day, he barely speaks to you but you feel his eyes on you and you know it is concern, not anger, that is keeping him away.

(You sit up late that evening, unable to sleep and he comes and joins you in front of the fire. Your eyes are wet and your paws patter uselessly on the arm of your old armchair. Neither of you speaks but when the flames are no more than flickering embers, he stands and hugs you tightly before going back to his room.)

In the days that follow, Karunal watches you and asks questions – about love, about change, about good and evil and grief. At Chara's grave, he doesn't ask but you can tell that he's worked out that the flowers mark the resting place of one of your children. He looks at the gardening you do and quietly remarks that the King is supposed to be a great gardener. He talks to you about family, looking up at the roof as he does so.

(Not every evening but at least twice a week, you sit up late into the night and Karunal sits with you, leaning against your leg and pretending he didn't see your expression when he walked into the room).

And then one day, you return to the house to find it empty. A quick scour shows that Karunal's backpack is gone, as is some of your food, his apron and a pan. He's left the shoes he came in, which he since outgrew. Your heart sinks as you search all of the rooms. He finally left. He finally left for home.

But then, on his bed, you find a note, surrounded by the usual chaos that is Karunal's method of keeping his room "clean". You pick it up and nearly shriek when you read it.

 _Tori_

 _Don't be mad! I'm coming back! But you've dun so much for me and you've been so sad resently that I thort maybe I cud help. So I thort I cud go tlak to the king. I kno what you said but I bet he mises you too. Maybe he'll stop kiling kids and come back. We cud be a famly Tori._

 _And if he is vilent I'll hit him with my pan and run back. Ha ha hopfuly it won't get that bad tho._

 _See you soon!_

 _Kaz_

This time, you start to open the door before you stop, the slight draft from the outside gently hitting your face. Indecision rips through you. You promised never to leave the Ruins. You _told_ Karunal not to leave. Maybe he'll just keep going and go back to his friends and family. Maybe he'll turn around and come back.

It's a lie, of course, and it doesn't take long for you to hear that he, too, has died in the depths of Hotland and that the soul they took was green, a deep green that spoke of kindness and health. Another variation of colour to join the palette that the King has collected. The worst part though is that he _could_ have made it to the Barrier – if only he hadn't stopped to speak to the King. If only he hadn't chosen to stay with you rather than leave.

The mangled mess of his phone joins the other items in the room you do not open.

In the night that follows Karunal's death, as you sit in the living room, eyes dry and expression blank, you make a decision (because there's next time. There's always a next time and there will always _be_ a next time, no matter how many times you wish there could be a _last_ _time_ for you). You cannot leave the Ruins ( _you could_ , a traitor voice whispers. _If you cared about these children, you would. Otherwise how are you any better than Asgore?_ ) so you will have to keep the next human here. That is the only way to ensure you finally keep your promises and to give your soul even some semblance of colour now. You will not tell them what is outside the Ruins. You will not tell them of the history of monsters. You will not suggest there is a way back to the Surface. You will not tell them of the other humans or of Asgore. You will not let them see any of your own pain. If you have to, you will destroy that exit to the Ruins.

You _will_ keep them safe next time, you tell yourself.

But you don't promise and, somehow, you know that's going to make all the difference.

 _ **Fin**_


End file.
